Few may believe him but Floyd Mayweather Jr. reiterated his desire to stay retired on Wednesday while also acknowledging he sparred a few weeks ago.

“Once again I’m retired,” Mayweather said at a press conference in Brooklyn to promote Badou Jack’s super middleweight unification match with James DeGale on Jan. 14 at Barclays Center. “I’m a promoter. I’m here to help these fighters get to the next level. That’s what it’s about.”

Mayweather was asked if he can guarantee he will never fight again. Mayweather evaded the question as if he was dodging a punch from Marcos Maidana. “Once again, I’m not here to talk about that,” he said. “I’m not going to guarantee nothing. Nothing is promised but I’m here to help fighters. It’s all about making smart investments, not just in the ring but outside the ring.”

Mayweather acknowledged to sparring with Thomas Dulorme, a title challenger at 140 pounds several weeks ago, going “four or five rounds” but said not to read anything into it. “Everything played out well,” Mayweather said. “I didn’t miss it at all. I had fun while it lasted. I had a great time.”

In short, he doesn’t miss being in the ring. “Not at all,” he said. “I had my fun. I went out and did what I had to do. Everyone is saying, ‘Go for No. 50. Go for a record.’ Like I said before, if it was in God’s plan, it would have happened. My last fight was 49 and I’m happy with how my career went.”

Struggling to locate a copy of RING magazine? Try here or…

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to the print and digital editions of RING magazine by clicking the banner or here. You can also order the current issue, which is on newsstands, or back issues from our subscribe page. On the cover this month: Double Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields. The U.K. Issue featuring cover star Carl Frampton is available now.